Summer 2015 Volume 15, Issue 3

Summer 2015 Volume 15, Issue 3

Idaho Cattle Association Celebrates 100-Year Anniversary

Palouse Pulse Crops Threatened by Port Dispute

Coalition Lobbies for Craters of the Moon Name Change

The Ag Agenda

Time to Get to Work with Tools for Trade

By Bob Stallman

President American Farm Bureau Federation

As farmers and ranchers, we know it’s tough to get the job done without the right tool. Earlier this year, Farm Bureau members spoke up to urge Congress to give U.S. trade negotiators an important tool to get the job done on trade agreements: Trade Promotion Authority. Congress listened, worked across party lines and passed TPA this summer. Now it’s time for the admin-

istration to put this tool to good use.

TPA legislation has unlocked the door to ambitious new trade agreements, and America’s farmers and ranchers have a major stake in what happens next. Our ability to reach markets around the world directly boosts the economy here at home. What we do each day on our farms and ranches creates and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in food production, energy and manufacturing across the country.

U.S. agriculture exported a record $152 billion See STALLMAN, page 12

The President’s Desk

House Passes Food Labeling Bill

By Frank Priestley President Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that brings greater clarity to food labeling and does away with labeling schemes that would stigmatize foods based on the technology used to develop seeds.

The effort to enact state laws requiring labeling of food grown from genetically modified seeds lost ground when the House voted 275-

150 in favor of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act in late July. If it passes the U.S. Senate and is signed by President Obama, the law would block states from creating a patchwork of different laws for each state. We are glad that common sense prevailed in this case but it’s important for consumers to explore this debate further.

Eating food is one of the most intimate things we do. Consumers deserve to know what is in the food they are eating, which is the reason for labels in the first place. However, there is See PRIESTLEY, page 21

Inside Farm Bureau

Off-Road Fuel Excise Tax Exemption

By Rick Keller CEO Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

2

The taxing of fuel by the federal government began in 1932 during the Hoover administration. The nation had entered a depression and the government sought ways to increase much needed revenue. The unpopular Revenue Act of 1932 assessed a one-cent per gallon excise tax on all fuels. The next tax increase occurred in 1951 during the Truman administration. An

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SPRING 2015

additional one-cent tax was levied. During the Eisenhower administration, the Interstate Highway System was implemented and the fuel excise tax was increased to a total of four cents in 1956.

The fuel excise taxes were unpopular. There were many attempts to remove the tax, but each failed.

In 1956, a group of Farm Bureau members from the Green Timber local, of Fremont County See KELLER, page 12

Volume 15, Issue 2

IFBF OFFICERS

President ................................... Frank Priestley, Franklin Vice President ...................................Mark Trupp, Driggs Executive Vice President ............................... Rick Keller BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bryan Searle ............................................................Shelley Mark Harris ................................................. Soda Springs Chris Dalley ....................................................... Blackfoot Dean Schwendiman ........................................... Newdale Danny Ferguson ........................................................Rigby Scott Steele ..................................................... Idaho Falls Gerald Marchant .................................................. Oakley Rick Pearson ................................................... Hagerman Rick Brune............................................................Hazelton Luke Pearce ............................................. New Plymouth Cody Chandler....................................................... Weiser Tracy Walton ........................................................ Emmett Marjorie French ............................................... Princeton Alton Howell ................................................ Careywood Tom Daniel ............................................... Bonners Ferry Judy Woody ................................................................ Filer Cole Smith ...................................................... Montpelier STAFF Dir. of Organization............................... Dennis Brower Commodities & Marketing Assistant ........... Peg Pratt Member Services Assistant ..................... Peggy Moore Public Relations Assistant ........................ Dixie Ashton Dist. I Regional Manager ........................... Justin Patten Dist. II Regional Manager .............................. Zak Miller Dist. III Regional Manager .................. Charles Garner Dist. IV Regional Manager ..........................Brody Miller Dist. V Regional Manager ....................... Bob Smathers Dir. of Governmental Affairs ................Russ Hendricks Asst. Dir. of Governmental Affairs .... Dennis Tanikuni Director of Public Relations .............. John Thompson Video Services Manager ............................ Steve Ritter Broadcast Services Manager ..................... Jake Putnam Office Manager, Boise .................... Julie Christoffersen Member Services Manager ........................ Joel Benson Administrative Assistant ............................... Cara Dyer Assistant Treasurer.................................. Tyler Zollinger Printed by: Owyhee Publishing, Homedale, ID

IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY USPS #022-899, is published quarterly by the IDAHO FARM BUREAU FEDERATION, 275 Tierra Vista Drive, Pocatello, ID 83201.

POSTMASTER send changes of address to: IDAHO FARM BUREAU QUARTERLY P.O. Box 4848, Pocatello, ID 83205-4848.

Periodicals postage paid at Pocatello, ID and additional mailing offices.

Subscription: $4 a year included in Farm Bureau dues.

MAGAZINE CONTACTS: Idaho Farm Bureau Federation EDITOR (208) 239-4292 • ADS (208) 239-4279 E-MAIL: dashton@idahofb.org www.idahofb.org

Cover: In celebration of the organization’s 100th

year, the Idaho Cattle Association held a cattle drive in Boise. Dignitaries including ICA officers and members, and Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and Lt. Gov. Brad Little participated.

Contents Features

Labor dispute threatens export of Palouse commodities PAGE 4

Public land firefighting policy to change PAGE 14 Bob Stallman to leave AFBF PAGE 22

Coalition lobbies to Change Craters of the Moon National Monument to a National Park PAGE 6 Idaho Cattle Association celebrates 100 years PAGE 8

Learn how to grill a watermelon PAGE 33 Fourth of July picnic cost survey PAGE 38

BYU-Idaho holds 3rd Annual Ag Days PAGE 10

DEPARTMENTS The Ag Agenda: Bob Stallman............................................................. 2 The President’s Desk: Frank Priestley.............................................. 2 Inside Farm Bureau: Rick Keller......................................................... 2 University of Idaho Forestry............................................................. 18 Farm Facts............................................................................................. 28 Food Page: A Taste of Idaho.............................................................. 34 Classifieds ............................................................................................ 42

Photo by Steve Ritter

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

3

The Port of Lewiston’s future viability is threatened by downstream labor issues. Container on barge shipping is no longer an option since two international shipping companies pulled out of Portland in March.

Port of Lewiston Shippers Struggle with Loss of Container Options

By John Thompson

The option of shipping commodities, mainly pulse crops, by container from Lewiston through Portland was lost recently due to a union labor dispute at the Oregon seaport.

The fallout is creating hardship and increased costs for Pacific Northwest farms, commodity handling companies, businesses that ship farm supplies such as fertilizer and chemicals, and many other businesses in surrounding communities. In addition, the loss of container capability creates questions about the future economic viability of the Port of Lewiston.

Companies that package and 4

ship pulse crops such as garbanzo beans, lentils, split peas and whole peas are scrambling to find truck and rail options to move an estimated 60,000 metric tons of commodities that were previously transported by barge, while farmers are searching for how to absorb a cost increase expected in the $1 per hundredweight range. It takes 134 trucks to move the same amount of cargo as one barge.

“I don’t see it coming back, the Port of Portland has run its course and is drying up,” said Mike Hainey, a forage exporter from Ellensburg, Washington, during a recent meeting held at the Port of Lewiston.

Another added difficulty at

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

Portland is the Port itself lies 90 miles inland from the coast and the new larger vessels have difficulty navigating a channel that is too shallow.

Two foreign companies that own and move the 53-foot long steel boxes that can be fitted with a chassis and pulled behind a semi-truck, or stripped of the chassis and transported by rail or ship throughout the world, pulled out of Portland in March. German-based Hapag-Lloyd and Hanjin, a South Korean company cited inability to maintain shipping schedules due to a nearly three-year long work slowdown at Terminal 6, Port of Portland. The two companies combined represent 98 percent

of Portland’s container business. The Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 is one of only two terminals that handle containers on the U.S. West Coast.

The other is in Seattle.

Representatives from nearly all of the effected businesses from container shippers to farms place the blame squarely at the feet of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Union dock workers at Portland’s Terminal 6, who recently negotiated a new contract, have moved less than half as many containers per hour over the last two years as longshoremen at Seattle’s container handling terminal.

with its strategy of blaming management. When asked about the Pay Guarantee Plan and workers being paid for doing nothing, Sargent said she didn’t understand the question. Following are two of the questions and answers sent to ILWU from Idaho Farm Bureau that will provide readers some perspective on the union’s views of the situation: Question - How many jobs will be lost at Terminal 6 due to the container shipping companies pulling out? Is that a concern or can those longshoremen who work at Terminal 6 just transfer to another terminal or port?

Pulse crops in production on the Palouse Prairie near Genesee.

Photo by Steve Ritter

However, a spokesman for the longshoremen says Terminal 6 doesn’t have a labor problem, it has a management problem. A sour relationship has existed for several years between ILWU and ICTSI Oregon, a company based in the Philippines that manages Portland’s container shipping at Terminal 6.

In an e-mail to the Idaho Farm Bureau, ILWU spokeswoman Jennifer Sargent wrote that longshore workers and farmers are on the same side with both seeking to export agricultural products, but are at the mercy of a powerful overseas corporation.

“ICTSI operates on American turf solely for profit, without regard for the workers and farmers who rely on smooth transport of our goods,” Sargent wrote. “ICTSI is a Philippines-based company that operates in about 30 countries around the world - typically

in low-wage and developing nations where workers and farmers have few rights compared with large multinational corporations. ICTSI signed conflicting contracts when coming from the Philippines to operate Terminal 6, and fails to provide adequate staffing and equipment.”

Sargent added that work flow and labor / management relations are normal and productive at the Port of Portland’s other ten export terminals.

In an e-mail to Oregon Public Broadcasting in May, ICTSI CEO Elvis Ganda had a much different point of view. “For Terminal 6 to be successful, the ILWU must signal to potential container shipping lines that its almost three-year campaign of work stoppages, slowdowns, and safety gimmicks at Terminal 6 has come to an end,” he wrote. “No carrier will want to make a longterm commitment to the ter-

minal so long as ILWU workers delay cargo and vessels as a strong-arm tactic to get what they want.”

Under the new ILWU contract workers have a measure of protection called a Pay Guarantee Plan. It guarantees longshoremen a salary even if there is no work to perform.

Longshoremen who qualify under the plan can now show up to work and if no work is available they are paid for 40 hours per week at a rate of $36.38 per hour. Under the previous contract they were paid for 37.5 hours per week – even if there was no work to perform.

In spite of the statistics showing significant work slowdown at Terminal 6, Sargent’s email response fails to acknowledge that a work slowdown occurred. In addition, when asked about the loss of jobs at Terminal 6, the union provided no numbers and stuck

Answer - Terminal 6 is one of eleven operating terminals in Portland, and all are operating smoothly with the same union longshore workforce that ICTSI blames for their own mismanagement. When ICTSI still had regular carriers calling, they were so difficult to work with that the most experienced workers choose to work at the other terminals where the employers follow the rules of the contract and provide adequate equipment to do the job. ICTSI’s loss of Hanjin and Hapag-Lloyd will have an impact on Portland’s regular registered longshore workforce – but the company’s mismanagement is having an even bigger impact on customers, including family farmers, which is regrettable.

Question - Does the Union acknowledge that a work slowdown occurred at Terminal 6 over the past two years? If so, what is the thinking behind that strategy? It appears that the Longshoremen shot themselves in the foot. Wasn’t

See PORT OF LEWISTON p.37

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

5

The Change the Name Coalition, made up of Butte County business owners and others, sponsored a tour of Craters of the Moon National Monument in late June. The group supports changing the monument to a national park.

Coalition Petitions for Craters Name Change

Article and photos by John Thompson Craters of the Moon National Monument is a unique destination with a misleading name, according to a group of local residents.

The Change the Name Coalition believes swapping the word “Monument” for “Park” will bring needed tourism dollars to the communities of Arco and Carey, and in turn help shore up the economy of the entire region.

During a meeting held at the Monument in late June, Butte County Commissioner Rose Bernal, Butte County School Board Chair Marie Cummins, and Butte County Chamber of Commerce President Helen Merrill, argued that Craters deserves to become a national park which will generate more tourism. They added that potential for regulatory changes that may come with 6

a name change could happen regardless of whether Craters becomes a park or not.

The word monument is confusing to travelers whom often aren’t expecting a 750,000 acre destination complete with unique geology, a bounty of plants and animals, walking trails and campgrounds, said Craters Superintendent Dan Buckley.

“From Highway 26 it may look like big pile of black rocks, but when you get out and explore it, you’ll find it’s extraordinary,” Buckley said. “It’s amazing that animals can survive in a place that experiences 200 degree temperature swings.”

It is the largest and youngest volcanic flow in the continental United States where rock surface temperatures can reach 178 degrees Fahrenheit and dip to minus 20 in the winter. Also there are nearly 500 documented caves ranging from small to massive, one

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

of the largest cinder cones in the world, and several small, isolated, vegetated areas among the lava flows called Kipukas where nature is preserving what the Snake River plain looked like before Europeans arrived here.

Craters of the Moon sees an average of 200,000 visitors each year. Cummins said when people see the word monument on a map they expect less than they would if it were changed to a national park. “It could be just a statue, or a small cave or something more typical than what we have here,” she said. “It doesn’t inspire to you to plan to spend a whole day.”

Buckley added that many visitors stop in on a tight time schedule on their way to other area attractions such as Yellowstone. But after they receive some information about Craters, they often spend several hours.

Snow Cone Crater is a deep hole in the earth that spewed lava around 2,000 years ago. Craters along Idaho’s Great Rift are expected to erupt within the next 1,000 years and some geologists believe the eruption could come in the next 100 years.

Adding to the confusion surrounding official names it’s important to note that there are two existing monuments, and a national preserve within the existing Craters of the Moon complex. They include the original 54,000-acre National Park Service-administered Craters of the Moon Monument established in 1924 by President Calvin Coolidge, where no hunting or grazing are permitted; a National Park Service-administered preserve, where hunting is allowed and a Bureau of Land Management-administered monument where both hunting and grazing are allowed.

Change the Name Coalition members say changing the name of the original monument to park, leaving one park, one monument and one preserve reduces confusion for travelers.

“We are only focusing on the original 54,000 acre monument,” Cummins said.

“It deserves national park status because it’s not a singular monument. It’s a large area of awesome attractions and the term

national monument doesn’t do it justice.”

Commissioner Bernal said monuments that have been upgraded to park status have shown tourism increases up to 30 percent. “We think with our close proximity to Yellowstone Park the tourism increase could be even greater here,” she said.

Merrill said the region’s economy is “dying on the vine,” and that more tourism could bolster the base economy (agriculture).

“We understand that we wouldn’t be here without farming, ranching and mining but we can do a better job of tapping into tourism’s economic potential.”

At present, Craters provides 112 jobs locally and stimulates the local economy by $6.6 million per year, Buckley said.

Concerns raised during the meeting related to the potential for increasing regulations if the proposal is considered at the federal level. Congress or appointed agency officials could decide to explore whether to increase or change boundaries, limit access,

limit hunting or grazing, or charge a toll for vehicle traffic passing through the Monument on State Highway 26.

Buckley said they have no intention of charging a toll to pass through the park and he explained that the State of Idaho has jurisdiction over the road. Cummins said the Coalition doesn’t want anything to change but the name and that if the federal government decides changes are needed, those changes could occur even if the name stays the same.

Several bordering counties have signed on in support of the change. They include Bingham, Butte, Bannock, Bonneville, Camas, Lincoln and Minidoka counties, the Idaho Recreation Council, the Idaho Association of Counties and the cities of Mackay, Carey and Arco. The Coalition is also circulating petitions and collecting support on Facebook under Craters of the Moon, Change the Name.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

7

Idaho Cattle Association officers and members, along with several state dignitaries line up prior to a cattle drive in Boise.

Photo by Steve Ritter

Garden City Cattle Drive Celebrates ICA’s 100-year Anniversary

By Jake Putnam A herd of majestic longhorns made their way down Chinden Boulevard in Garden City on July 18th, and it was a sight that may not be seen for another hundred years.

The rare, urban cattle drive culminated the 100th anniversary of the Idaho Cattle Association.

“The cattle drive is an iconic part of our industry,” said ICA Communications Director Britany Hurst. “When you think of cowboys, you think cattle drives.”

8

Thousands of people lined the street to see not only the longhorns but Idaho’s most prominent cowboys including Gov. Butch Otter and Lt. Gov. Brad Little. They were joined by Idaho Cattle Association leaders past and present.

Chinden Boulevard is normally one of the busiest streets in Boise, but on this day it was easily the most nostalgic. Traffic was re-routed by dozens of police officers while cowboys expertly drove the cattle down the boulevard.

“It represents Idaho and it represents a great tradition,” said Gov. Butch Otter.

“Think of it, a hundred years of cattle

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

drives and cowboys feeding people all over the United States and all over the world. It was great being a part of it.”

ICA President Carl Lufkin from Leadore says the cattle drive has always been a unique part of Idaho history. “No doubt it represents the history of this country and especially this state, not only is it a part of our heritage but our lifestyle and culture and we wanted to celebrate it in a big way.”

The celebration began and ended with thirty-six longhorns. The cattle made their way down Chinden, the sound of the hooves on pavement was pleasing

A small herd of longhorn cattle moves down Chinden Boulevard in Garden City to recognize the Idaho Cattle Association’s Centennial Celebration.

Photo by Steve Ritter

and loud. People crowded the street on both sides, four-deep, many sitting in lawn chairs like a 4th of July parade.

“The turnout was far greater than we expected, we really appreciate the people of Idaho coming out and helping us celebrate,” said Lufkin.

The herd of cattle was followed by scores of cowboys and cowgirls on horseback of all ages, moving at a leisurely pace allowing people to take in a sight not seen in decades. Many pulled out telephones and cameras to take selfies of the cattle drive.

Television cameras, photographers and reporters from local media also covered the event capping a five-day centen-

nial celebration by the ICA. The event achieved the goal of bringing ranching back to forefront of people’s minds, even if only for the day.

“I think ranching is big in Idaho,” added Lufkin. “We would like the whole state to celebrate what is probably the most important industry in Idaho.”

Hurst says most of what the ICA does is not easily recognized by the people of Idaho. She says putting cattle in the street was a way showing people what ranchers do. “So this event opened up opportunities to reach the public and bring them together with our ranchers.”

As the longhorns finished the parade it was time for reflection by ICA leaders.

They along with state leaders mingled with reporters and parade goers at the end of the long parade route, happily talking about cattle and ranching with city folk.

Ranching is big business in Idaho. Sales of cattle and calves accounted for $2.4 billion in farm gate receipts in 2014, making it the second largest segment in Idaho agriculture and the ICA thinks those kind of numbers demand more attention.

The Idaho Cattle Association successfully wrapped up their 100 year anniversary and through good times and bad, agree that ranching has stood the test of time and remains a ‘big deal’ in the Gem State.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

9

Idaho Cattlemen’s Society President Matt Herrington visits with a student Ag Days attendee about the cattle in the live animal display.

BYUI Hosts Third Annual Ag Day Article and photos by Paige Nelson The bawl of a cow heard across the Rexburg campus of Brigham Young University-Idaho sounded unusual above the chatter and shuffle of students heading from one class to the next.

The cow wasn’t an escapee from a nearby ranch or destined for the campus anatomy and physiology lab. She was on display June 18, for the 3rd Annual BYU-Idaho Ag Days.

Started in 2013, Ag Days has become an event the university looks forward to. This year Ag Days was planned and produced by students William Kendell and Jessica Knutsen, and sponsored by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The interactive affair hosted student booths including tractors, both old and new, farm im10

plements, dummy calf roping, ice cream, French fries, carbonated grapes, Browning’s Honey and Great Harvest bread.

In addition were a rangeland vegetation and wildlife display, a farm commodities booth and a floral horticulture tent.

The live animal display featured a cowcalf pair, split embryo twin calves, a mature cow with a cannula in her side, two dairy cows, a mare and foal, two miniature horses and several ewes.

The Madison and Fremont Young Farmers and Ranchers represented Idaho Farm Bureau. Volunteers from each county assisted Ag Days attendees in hand grinding wheat for pancakes and making butter.

Also onsite was Farm Bureau’s Holstein dummy milk cow. Participants often practiced milking the dummy before trying their hand on the live cows.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

The University of Idaho Dairy Extension attended with their own a full-size cow rumen explaining the digestive system of cattle and talking about the state’s large dairy industry.

Industry affiliates like Valley Wide Cooperative donated the panels for the live animal display, while Intermountain Farmers Association (IFA) Cooperative operated a booth and talked about career opportunities.

The free venue entertained about 2,350 visitors.

From the beginning, Ag Days has been a student led initiative. Students from the Animal and Food Science, Ag Business, Biology and Agronomy departments and others work together to organize the event.

Postsecondary Agricultural Student Or-

Children enjoy playing on a tractor as part of the 3rd Annual Ag Days held at BYU-Idaho.

ganization, Pre-Veterinarian, Cattlemen’s, Wildlife, Range, Ag Business and Food Science campus societies form the organizational structure. Each is tasked with creating an interactive booth describing their associated major and how it ties into agriculture.

Ag Days is dual purposed. It’s a recruiting site for agriculture majors at BYU-Idaho and an agriculture educational session for those in attendance.

“As we look at it, I think it’s really critically important that people, besides agricultural people, understand what the potential is in agriculture,” said Zeph Quirl, BYU-Idaho department chair. “The fact that agriculture, whether its animal science, food science or whatever, is going to be feeding us, feeding the world. Technology and advancement is changing so quickly that it’s just incredible the potential in animal, plant and food science.”

While many of the Ag Days visitors were

surprised, to learn about all agriculture entails, some of the agriculture students are shocked to learn just how little the public really understands about the industry.

According to Kendell, the milk cows seem to always be the most popular exhibit. That statement holds true for Lindsay Mattie, from St. Louis, Mo. She is an early childhood education/special education major at BYU-Idaho. She says she heard about Ag Days from her roommate and headed straight for the event.

As soon as Mattie stepped off the tractordrawn wagon shuttle, she went right for the cow-milking booth.

With a little advice, Mattie milked her first cow and learned a few cow facts to boot.

“I thought milking a cow was pretty fun.

It was a fun, different type of thing. I’ve never experienced what they actually do to milk a cow,” she said.

Breann Navigato, a general studies major,

was also curious about milk cows. “I’ve always wanted to milk a cow,” says Navigato. “It was very soft and really fat.”

At the Farm Bureau booth, Shaun Blaser, the Madison County YF&R Chair says he enjoyed volunteering and watching people reconnect with their past.

“I am here because I enjoy agriculture, and I enjoy Farm Bureau, and I enjoy helping people and teaching people about where their food comes from,” said Blaser. “I’m passionate about agriculture. I love it.”

While the ag students are engaged in answering questions and promoting their majors, Van Christman, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences hopes some of the non-aggies may take a harder look at what agriculture has to offer.

“Ag Days is an opportunity to get students to look at the field of agriculture. We hope See BYUI AG DAY page 25

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

11

STALLMAN

Continued from page 2

in food, fiber and energy products last year alone. But that number could soon drop off—by as much as $12 billion—if we can’t keep reaching new customers.

Breaking Down Barriers The Trans-Pacific Partnership is in sight now and could open new markets from Asia to Canada. But the agreement can’t be a success without first breaking down some long-standing trade barriers to U.S. agricultural products.

Japan’s high tariffs have, for too long, limited American agricultural products like beef, pork, rice and dairy. Japan’s outrageous 770 percent tariff on rice has effectively shut out all competitors. Much closer to home, Canada’s high tariffs on poultry and dairy are keeping those mar-

kets closed. Canada’s 200 percent tariff on dairy is not in line with the goodwill and good trade relations we have long enjoyed with our close neighbors. It’s time to open up those markets and give farmers, ranchers and consumers flexibility in buying and selling quality, healthful food.

Science-Based Rules U.S. agriculture is also ready for serious growth in markets on the other side of the Atlantic. For too long, the European Union has let politics rather than science set trade standards. U.S. farmers and ranchers grow safe, high-quality food. But the EU has decided it can reject our products—products that have already met both U.S. and World Trade Organization safety standards—based on the EU’s so-called “precautionary principle.” Any animal treated

KELLER

with antibiotics for its health or fed biotech grain cannot become part of a meal in Europe, despite the proven safety of those methods—and the complete lack of proof to the contrary. Europe’s habit of ignoring science needs to stop. Last year, U.S. farmers and ranchers exported $12.7 billion in products to the EU, while the EU exported $18.7 billion worth of agricultural products to the U.S. It’s time to even out that trade balance with scientific standards and fair labeling guidelines.

America’s farmers and ranchers are ready to get to work in new markets across the globe. But Congress and the administration must continue to work together to complete agreements that will keep U.S. agriculture moving forward. The tools are in place, the roadmap is clear and it’s time to get the engine running.

Continued from page 2 Farm Bureau in Idaho, believed it was not equable to pay the fuel excise tax for the highway systems, when their vehicles were not used on the highway.

The Green Timber local submitted the resolution to the Fremont County Farm Bureau which read: “The Farm Bureau recommends that the federal gasoline tax be refunded on non-highway used gasoline or other motor fuels.”

The resolution was adopted by the county and became policy of the Idaho Farm Bureau, which then forwarded the policy to the American Farm Bureau.

In 1957, the American Farm Bureau presented the resolution to various Congressional leaders. Because of the already unpopular excise tax and the inability to eliminate the tax, Congress unified to exempt non-highway gasoline and fuels from the excise tax. This benefited farmers and ranchers all over the nation.

Feeling the success of the new law, the Idaho Farm Bureau in 1957 developed a policy 12

which read, “The Federal three percent Transportation Tax was a war emergency measure. We recommend that this tax be repealed.” This policy was never acted upon by Congress.

Other tax increases followed during the Reagan, Bush and Clinton presidencies, to a total of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel used on highways. The last increase in the federal fuel excise tax was in 1993.

In order to strengthen the enforcement of diesel fuel tax collections, the government’s 1993 provisions moved the tax collection point from the wholesale to the terminal level and required that any diesel fuel removed from the terminal for tax-free use must be dyed. Under this system, the terminal operator is liable for the diesel fuel tax when the fuel is removed from the terminal. The terminal operator is to forward the taxes to the IRS. If this tax-paid fuel is subsequently sold for a tax-free use, IRS is to refund the tax to purchasers or provide credits against other taxes, depending on the specific situation.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

The federal government instituted the dyed fuel program as an easy way to tell whether untaxed fuel, intended to be used as home heating oil or for other off-road uses, was being used in diesel-powered vehicles. In addition, those dyed fuels are not subject to the federal and state taxes that are due on clear diesel fuel. By dying the non-taxable fuel red, federal and state authorities can immediately see that no tax has been paid on the fuel.

In addition to the federal fuel excise tax, the state of Idaho also assesses a fuel tax of 25 cents per gallon for both diesel and gasoline for highway use. On July 1, 2015 the state tax on fuels increased to a total of 32 cents per gallon. The off-highway fuel exemption continues for both the state and federal governments.

When we fill up the tractors before entering into our fields, we should express appreciation to those farmers in Green Timber, Idaho, who sixty years ago challenged a federal law and won, benefiting all of agriculture annually.

FBFS.com

You can’t predict your future.

But we can help you protect it.

Contact your agent to see how we can help safeguard your family’s future with life insurance and prepare you for a retirement that’s financially secure.

Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company*/West Des Moines, IA. *Company provider of Farm Bureau Financial Services LI156 (2-15)

F131-038005_PrintAd_IDFarm_Vs2.indd 1

1/15/15 3:26 PM

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

13

Sage grouse are moving back to areas recently treated by mastication for fire prevention and to improve habitat for the birds.

Interior Department Changing Fire Management Policy

By Steve Stuebner The Murphy complex wildfire, which burned about 600,000 acres of rangeland in southern Idaho and Nevada, is serving as a key catalyst in shaping western fire policy. In terms of size, the Murphy complex fire ranks among the top 5 in the nation in recent history.

After touring the Murphy fire zone recently, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell was inspired to develop a new firefighting strategy to prevent more large wildfires in the Great Basin.

“We went out on China Mountain and looked out over Browns Bench at some pretty incredible sagebrush habitat and looked out over the devastation of the Murphy fire,” Jewell said. “A picture is worth a thousand words. Being there is worth even more. You understand what’s at stake.”

14

Jewell wants to protect the best remaining sagebrush-steppe habitat for the greater sage grouse, a candidate for listing as an endangered species.

“Fire is the No. 1 threat to this ecosystem in the Great Basin states,” Jewell said at a recent press conference in Boise. “Gov. Otter and I and the western governors who are working on sage grouse conservation plans are really working on the preservation of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem.

There are 350 species that depend on that habitat like mule deer, pronghorn, greater sage grouse, bald eagle, and many other species that call this home.”

Ranchers also want to preserve the native perennial grasses and shrubs in the Great Basin because healthy rangelands provide the best-quality forage for livestock grazing. Plus, public land grazing allotments are a crucial part of most ranching opera-

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

tions.

“We’re a patchwork outfit in that there’s private, there’s state, there’s BLM, there’s Forest Service. But it’s all key,” Rancher Mike Guerry said. “You take one piece out of the puzzle and the operation doesn’t work.”

Jewell’s new wildfire prevention strategy, signed in Boise at a press conference with Gov. Butch Otter, makes stopping wildfires in the Great Basin the No. 1 national priority. The Secretarial Order affects five states and 42 million acres of private, state and public land.

A cornerstone of Jewell’s strategy calls for working closely with ranchers as first responders via Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPA’s) to give firefighters a better chance of stopping rangeland fires when they’re small.

An area slated for juniper removal near Jim Sage Mountain in Cassia County. Crews are removing juniper trees on BLM land in southern Idaho to reduce the severity of fires and to improve sage grouse habitat.

The fire prevention strategy also includes: Creating fire breaks along existing dirt roads with dozer work and mowing vegetation.

Pre-positioning firefighters and firefighting equipment close to core sage grouse habitat.

Creating more RFPA’s in the Great Basin and providing more resources for them.

Developing fire breaks with green strips in strategic locations using a hardy plant called Forage Kochia.

Idaho Governor Butch Otter applauded Secretary Jewell for beefing up RFPA’s for initial attack. “Now we have five organizations representing 230 ranchers who live out on the resource and cover about 3.5 million acres,” Otter said.

Ranchers create the local RFPA organizations, the Idaho Department of Lands and BLM train them, provide firefighting clothing and communications, and they all work together when a wildfire occurs.

“It’s really, truly about the partnership

with the BLM firefighters and the IDL firefighters,” Guerry says. “Classic example, two years ago, we had 21 starts, from Clover Creek to Richfield in a huge lightning storm. We were able to spread out with our people and BLM people, we held all of them to under 4,000 acres. Twentyfour hours later, we had a 60 mph wind, and all of the fires were out. That’s the proof of the pudding ... it’s about catching the fires early.”

The big problem, Guerry and Jewell point out, is that because of drought and climate change, wildfires have been getting bigger and bigger every year. And they’re burning more frequently, too.

“When you come like I did out of the 1960s, we had 3,000-acre fires,” he says.

“In the ‘80s, we had 30,000-acre fires, to the 2000s when a small fire in the Jarbidge Resource Area is a couple hundred thousand acres and Murphy complex fires.

There’s nothing mosaic or manageable about a 660,000-acre fire.”

“The reality is we have longer, hotter fire seasons than we ever have before,” Jewell

adds.

In the BLM’s Jarbidge Resource area, for example, where Guerry runs cattle and sheep, repeated wildfires have burned up valuable sage-steppe habitat. Julie Hilty, a fire ecologist for the BLM, explains.

“This map shows fire frequency in the Jarbidge field office over the last 15 years,” Hilty says. “This pink color shows areas that burned once. And, essentially, this very large area shows the extent of the Murphy complex fire that happened in 2007. Overlaid on that you see some darker colors that show other repeated fires.

“Starting in 2005, we had several large fires. Clover fire burned about 170,000 acres. Sailor Cap burned about 100,000 acres in 2006. Murphy complex, over 600,000 acres in 2007. Longview fire which burned from this side of the field office to this side of the field office in 2010 was over 300,000 acres. And then the Kenyon fire burned from down here over to here in 2012. And that was over 200,000 acres.

See FIRE MANAGEMENT p. 26

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

15

16

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

17

Assessing and Managing Your Forestland after a Wildfire

By Yvonne Barkley Whether in the direct path of flames or weeks spent under smoky skies, thousands of people will be affected by wildfires this summer. And once the fires are contained, a new challenge emerges – dealing with what is left after the burn. Here is a brief overview of post fire assessment and management.

Postfire assessment Idaho is part of a large area of the inland west dominated by fire-based ecosystems –where natural, periodic wildfires have shaped the plant, animal, and soil characteristics of these environments. When assessing postfire environments, all effects are looked at with reference to overall short- and long-term management objectives. Here, damages are defined as the unfavorable effects of firecaused changes that make 18

management objectives flooding. In general, ero- especially vulnerable after difficult to achieve or sion hazard will increase a wildfire. Areas burned at unobtainable. Benefits as slope increases and veg- moderate to high severity are the favorable effects etative cover decreases. are of greatest concern due of fire-caused changes To be safe, assume that all to lack of cover and the deand are factors that con- drainages in steep, hilly velopment of water repeltribute to the realization areas are capable of car- lent layers. of management objec- rying debris flows and are tives.

The best way for gathering the necessary information will be by walking the property. Assessment and treatment may be more accurate and effective if adjacent properties are included and should be done as soon after the burn as possible.

Use extreme caution when entering burnt areas; hazard trees are common and can fall without warning.

After a wildfire event, all assessment and management decisions will be based on burn severity (see Table 1). You will most likely have a mosaic of burn severities throughout a unit. Knowing the burn severity will help you predict tree mortality and soil conditions, as well as help you estimate erosion potential and postfire establishment of noxious weeds.

Postfire management Postfire management tends to focus on controlling erosion and noxious weeds, salvage logging, and/or reforestation.

Erosion potential. A common initial concern after a wildfire is erosion and Beware hazard trees when entering a burned stand.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

Photo by: Š Karen Wattenmaker

Noxious weeds. Weed survival should be expected.

Areas that have experienced moderate to severe burning and have little to no vegetation will be especially susceptible to weed establishment, as will areas that had weeds previous to burning. Weeds can also spread to your property from adjacent populations by windblown seed or by rhizomes and other vegetative structures.

When it comes to noxious weeds, there are no areas of low concern. A successful weed management program will consist of an annual weed assessment conducted in the late spring/ early summer each year and very aggressive control of low populations of weeds in order to halt the establishment or spread at

Log ghosts Photo by: Š Karen Wattenmaker

a low cost investment.

Salvage logging. Salvage logging is often done after a widespread disturbance

to recover the value of damaged trees and remove hazard trees. Salvage operations are usually not done

unless the material taken out will at least pay the exSee UI FORESTRY p. 33

Burn mosaic Photo by: Gary Chancey Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

19

Focus on Agriculture The Spirit of the Agrarian Creed

By Stewart Truelsen Americans are familiar with the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, but there was another set of principles the Founding Fathers held closely, although they never formally adopted them.

Those principles are the agrarian creed, also known as the agricultural creed. The creed is usually traced back to Thomas Jefferson, who placed a high value on agricultural pursuits. Jefferson felt that farming was superior to other occupations and resulted in good citizenship. Therefore, the creed expressed the belief that a high percentage of Americans should live on farms.

Other ideas incorporated in the creed were that farming is not only a business, but a way of life and ideally a family enterprise.

The land should belong to the person who farms it, and the farmer should be his own boss. Anyone who wants to farm should be able to do so. Lastly, it is good to make two blades of grass grow where only one grew before.

According to Grant McConnell, who wrote 20

The Decline of Agrarian Democracy in 1953, the tradition of an agrarian democracy was at its peak in 1890. He blamed its decline on the rise of capitalism. In any case, society was becoming industrial and urban. During the twentieth century, depressed farm prices, uncontrollable surpluses and an exodus from farms made the agrarian dream seem more like a nightmare at times.

Yet, the spirit of the agrarian creed lives on and its basic tenets remain, especially the concept of the family farm and the importance of private property rights. These and other parts of the creed helped form the philosophies and beliefs of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Today’s high-tech world is a long way from what Jefferson had in mind, but there seems to be a growing appreciation among the non-farm public for agriculture and a desire to get back to our agrarian roots.

One of the hottest real estate trends is developing homes around a working farm instead of a golf course or a man-made lake. According to an article in Smithson-

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

ian magazine there are dozens of so-called agritopian developments that are offshoots of the local-food movement.

The foodie culture and farm-minded chefs are bringing more attention to the source of our food—the nation’s farms and ranches, and give credit to the agricultural community for reaching out to consumers like never before through social media and television. Farmers have always had a good story to tell, but now they have an audience more willing to listen. Yes, some nonfarmers may follow a romanticized version of what farming ought to be, and that’s why a dialogue becomes important.

Jefferson’s dream of having a large part of the population living on farms is no longer possible, but his premise for the agrarian creed is still valid. As a nation, we should continue to place a high value on agricultural pursuits and recognize the work ethic and good citizenship of those who farm and ranch.

Stewart Truelsen, a food and agriculture freelance writer, is a regular contributor to the Focus on Agriculture series.

PRIESTLEY

Continued from page 2

where labeling can be taken too far. In this case, and in the event that the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act does not pass, we could wind up with a complicated mess of state laws that make it very difficult for the companies that make processed foods to operate. However, consumers can apply a few simple, common-sense measures to both learn more about foods that contain GMO ingredients or to avoid those foods if they so choose.

First, let’s look at why GMO crops became prevalent. The most popular GMO crops in production today are corn and soybeans. GMO crops were developed to make it easier for farmers to control insects and easier for crops to compete for sunlight and soil nutrients with weeds. With corn, one of the major insect pests is the corn rootworm. This insect is basically a maggot that attacks the roots of a corn plant. As you can imagine it’s very difficult to control a bug that is attacking roots beneath the surface of the soil. Before 1996, when GMO corn was introduced, pesticides were injected into the soil or applied at planting time. However, these pesticides were costly and not that effective. GMO corn is engineered to produce an organic pesticide called Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt. This is a biological pesticide naturally produced in soil. In its synthesized form, it is approved for use on organic crops by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

With this development, farmers no longer have to spray strong chemicals on crops or inject them into the soil, rather when a root maggot takes a bite of a

corn root, it has ingested a pesticide that kills it.

For weed control, soybeans, alfalfa, corn and sugarbeets are all engineered to withstand applications of glyphosate weed killer. In other words, the chemical kills the weeds but not the crop.

As you can imagine, these genetic developments immediately became popular with farmers. Their crops could now better withstand the threats of insects, diseases and competition from weeds. The technology increased crop yields which helped farms become more efficient and profitable. In addition GMO technology limited farmworker exposure to strong chemicals and drastically reduced the amount of chemical used on crops.

from GMO crops, various soy products and many other food ingredients derived from GMO crops. The other GMO crops currently in production, but not yet mentioned in this article are summer squash, papaya and cotton. If you want to avoid GMO crops, avoid those listed above, or shop for organic. Another method would be to eat fresh foods and shop around the outside of the grocery store. The processed food products stocked in the middle aisles will mostly all contain GMO products.

When it comes down to labeling specific products, it’s important to note that it’s not possible to tell the difference between sugar that came from a GMO sugarbeet seed and sugar that didn’t.

The same goes for soy products,

cotton and all of the others. It’s very difficult to justify labeling a product that is essentially the same as another and the only purpose it serves is to frighten consumers and create confusion.

In addition, the proponents of labeling GMO food products are divided on how to treat animal products including milk, cheese and meat that come from animals fed GMO crops like alfalfa, soy and corn and animals that ate only organic or conventionally produced feed. If science can’t tell the difference between cheese that came from a dairy cow that ate GMO crops and cheese that came from a dairy cow that ate only organic feed, is it government’s place to step in and arbitrarily label?

However, consumers became skeptical of the new technology, much the same as with several other developing technologies in our society over time. Not long ago there were concerns raised that cellular telephones may cause brain cancer. Today, many of us would find it difficult to get by without a cell phone. And there are many other examples.

Americans have been skeptical but adaptable to new technology since electricity first streamed into our homes. Initially with GMO crops the advancements have targeted production agriculture. However, the technology is advancing in ways that will benefit consumers as well.

GMO technology has been in use since 1996. In that time, millions of tons of GMO corn, soy and alfalfa has been fed to livestock with no adverse health effects to animals. Humans have also been consuming highfructose corn syrup derived Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

21

American Farm Bureau President Stallman Announces Departure in January WASHINGTON, D.C.,– American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman announced today that he will not seek reelection in January 2016 following 16 years at the helm of the nation’s largest, most influential general farm organization.

Stallman, a cattle and rice producer from Columbus, Texas, is the 11th president during AFBF’s almost 97-year history.

“It has been a tremendous honor to serve the nation’s Farm Bureau members and represent agriculture and rural America,” Stallman said. “After 16 years as AFBF president, six as Texas Farm Bureau president and several more in other Farm Bureau roles, it is time to hand over the reins of leadership—a decision that is made easier by knowing the great leadership and foundation that exist to continue moving Farm Bureau forward. I am as optimistic as ever about the future of American agriculture and Farm Bureau.

“On the wall of the AFBF office is a quote by President Thomas Jefferson: ‘Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.’ I couldn’t agree more, and I would 22

add that a most rewarding pursuit is working for the men and women who make up American agriculture. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to do so.”

AFBF has thrived under Stallman’s presidency.

Farm Bureau membership nationwide has grown by more than 1 million member families.

Programming has grown to include more efforts to build rural communities and economies and more leadership development programs to help farmers and ranchers become advocates for agriculture and citizen leaders in their communities. AFBF has grown organizationally, particularly with the acquisition of the IDEAg farm events and publications business in 2013.

And AFBF has grown in its effectiveness as an advocate in the courts for farmers’ and ranchers’ freedom to operate, and it remains the most visible, influential voice in the nation’s capital for farmers and ranchers of all types, sizes and regions.

“While the presidential gavel will change hands, what defines Farm Bureau will remain the same: our grassroots strength and our commitment to strengthening America’s

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

agricultural and rural communities,” Stallman added.

In addition to his Farm Bureau roles, Stallman has served on numerous boards and federal and state committees, including the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, the Farm Foundation board of trustees, the board and founding leadership of the U.S. Farmers

and Ranchers Alliance, the board of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and the House Agriculture Committee’s Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture.

A new AFBF president will be elected to a twoyear term at the 97th annual meeting of voting delegates, Jan. 12, 2016, as part of the AFBF Annual Convention and IDEAg Tradeshow, Jan. 10-13, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.

Renters Insurance?

Do you need

2,000,000

A renters insurance policy offers you coverage for the theft, loss or destruction of your personal belongings...

Home burglaries are reported each year in the United States.

Renters are just as likely to be the victims of burglaries as homeowners.

$32,500

The average cost to replace a renter’s possessions in a total loss

Storing valuables in an attic or garage may seem safe, but a stormy cloud over a leaky roof can ruin your possessions and leave you

*

like furniture, electronics & your clothes.

41% Of all home fires start in the kitchen.

Home fires not only damage your own property, they can quickly spread to other rental units. If you’re not covered, you could be burned with the bill for damages.

Leaving a bathtub or faucet running can spell disaster. It can flood your space as well as those below you. Without renters insurance, you could be responsible for

ALL of the damages!

*

Special Form coverage required.

If this tree falls, your landlord is covered for structure damages, but your stuff inside could be left

IDFBINS

1,000,000+ Injuries

- on stairs reported each year.

Without coverage, you could be liable for your guest’s medical bills, pain and suffering.

Sources: www.naic.org, www.nsc.org, www.consumerreports.org

Bring Us Your World. We’ll Protect It. Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

23

WORD SEARCH PUZZLE: FARMERS Word Search Puzzle: Farmers Market MARKET Items ITEMS

p

e

a

c

h

e

s

w

l

g

h

p

e

a

s

r

b

u

c

i

l

r

a

g

s

d

h

c

h

e

e

s

e

s

m

t

f

p

m

b

g

n

c

s

o

p

n

t

t

l

k

p

y

l

l

e

j

e

w

e

l

r

y

n

o

e

t

p

k

t

o

p

h

e

r

b

s

w

n

a

s

m

e

a

t

i

l

w

o

k

r

g

s

h

f

l

s

d

a

b

p

s

n

c

e

t

b

k

n

t

m

p

n

p

l

t

e

p

h

s

d

r

a

w

y

p

u

g

e

o

a

r

o

r

l

p

h

l

s

t

g

y

k

n

r

p

n

r

t

e

r

e

y

b

m

s

o

w

t

i

h

c

p

i

a

s

s

i

p

e

r

s

n

c

r

d

l

o

h

e

o

g

i

t

e

o

n

p

h

a

w

d

p

r

n

e

r

n

u

c

n

s

m

o

t

r

e

e

s

n

v

t

r

s

s

s

q

u

a

s

h

w

u

b

r

e

a

d

m

r

o

e

r

i

d

h

k

l

n

b

t

c

w

s

e

c

i

p

s

e

p

j

i

m

b

k

s

g

l

p

o

t

t

e

r

y

h

d

r

a

e

p

v

j

c

a

r

r

o

t

s

j

r

s

t

s

p

c

m

apple cherries

corn

asparagus eggs apple beans eggs flowers asparagus bedding plants flowers garlic beans herbs bedding p lants beets garlic honey beets berries herbs jelly berries bread honey jerky bread jewelry candles candles jelly meat carrots carrots jerky nuts cheeses onions cheeses jewelry cherries peaches corn 24 Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

meat nuts onions peaches pear peas peppers popcorn potato pottery

pumpkin

pear seeds peas shrubs peppers popcorn spices potato squash pottery tomatoes pumpkin seeds trees shrubs spices ANSWERS ON PAGE 29 squash tomatoes trees

BYUI AG DAYS Continued from page 11 that it attracts more people into the field,” he said. “A primary purpose of this is to show people what agriculture has to offer and maybe they’ll say, ‘That’s area that I want to go into.’”

Knutson hopes for the same thing.

“I hope that [the non-ag students] realize that agriculture isn’t so far away from where they are. I hope that business majors realize, ‘I can get into agriculture business; it doesn’t mean I have to run a tractor. It doesn’t mean I have to milk a cow.’”

Quirl says, it’s hard to say for sure, but he does believe there has been added interest and increased enrollment in at least the Animal and Food science department, but University enrollment, too, is on the rise.

Ag Days is based on the idea of inviting non-agriculture students and community members to learn about agriculture. Some attendees may even think about earning a degree in a directly or indirectly related field because of their attendance, but it may be the actual agriculture students that walk away from Ag Days better prepared for life’s career field.

Quirl lists leadership, organizational, interpersonal relationship and communication skills as some of what the agriculture students gain from participating in the event. In the meantime they learn about agriculture too.

“To be able to stand here and explain what a split embryo twin is and to explain the science to it that deepens their understanding.

It deepens their retention as they explain that to somebody else, as they teach it to somebody else,” he said.

Christman views Ag Days as a way to teach students to recognize and appreciate hard work.

“It helps them to see what goes into organizational things like this,” he says. “So often people that come to things like this, they see it all set up. They don’t understand what’s behind the scenes — how much work and effort went in to organizing and getting this thing put together.”

Kendell says Ag Days directly correlates to his future career.

“I’d like to work in agricultural law. There are a lot of misconceptions with agriculture, and so I would kind of be a mediator between the government and public perception. I would make sure that farming continues to be able to progress and keep the restrictions from being put on by people who don’t understand all of what is involved.”

In animal science major Arminda Spikes’ opinion, Ag Days for agriculture students is just a good time.

“They already know how great our program is. To be honest I think they come help to just get a chance to socialize,” she states.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

25

FIRE MANAGEMENT

Continued from page 15

So we’ve had this extensive, repeated fire cycle.”

While the BLM does its best to restore the land following wildfires, it can take years for sagebrush and other shrubs to grow back. Plus, invasive species like cheatgrass and other exotic plants quickly take root after fires and out-compete native vegetation. That’s why sage grouse conservation plans list wildfire and the spread of invasive species as the No. 1 and No. 2 threats to sage grouse habitat.

“In my mind, fire prevention is a lot better investment than fighting fire and doing rehab,” says Mike Courtney, Twin Falls District Manager. “If we can catch them before they get big, strategize projects to keep fires small, we’ll be dollars ahead.”

A map of core sage grouse habitat in Idaho and the Great Basin shows that the stronghold of the bird populations are in areas where the native sage-steppe habitat still exists. These are the areas that Secretary Jewell wants to preserve with the new fire prevention strategy.

The BLM is gearing up for the first year of implementation in Idaho and four other states that comprise the Great Basin.

“We’re pushing resources into those five states,” says Ron Dunton, Acting Assistant Director of Fire and Aviation at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) for the BLM. “We’re buying extra dozers, buying extra water tenders, buying extra tractor-trailer rigs.”

The BLM will be positioning smokejumpers, hot shot crews and incident commanders close to the Great Basin in the hot summer months. “I’m real confident in our ability to mobilize quickly and move quickly,” Dunton says.

The secretary’s strategy also calls for creating 9,000 miles of fuel breaks in the Great Basin. The fuel breaks are being created along existing dirt road corridors with blading and mowing.

Lance Okeson, Supervisory Fire Manage26

ment Specialist for the BLM, hosted a tour of fire breaks that have been bladed and mowed in Southwest Idaho. “The fires that are getting away from us are going bigger and faster than ever before. So we need a fuel break system that’ll take that into effect,” Okeson says. “That’s why we need to go bigger.”

“In this fuel type, in the sagebrush, the fire can move through that in 8- to 14foot flame lengths. Now that’s the reason to manipulate that sagebrush and mow it.

So when the fire comes out of the sagebrush, and into the mowed strip, the flame lengths will drop down to a level where they’re easier to handle. That’s that break point, where we as firefighters can more safely engage.”

BLM contract crews are working on creating fire breaks in core sage grouse habitat areas throughout southern Idaho. Brandon Brown showed a 200-foot fire break along Grassy Hills Road in the Three Creek area.

“In the Murphy complex fire, this was all really tall sagebrush and the flame lengths were immense,” Brown says. “There was really no way to defend this area. It wasn’t safe. So now, when we have a wider road corridor, it’ll have a drastic effect on the flame lengths. It drops them down as the fire approaches the road, and the fire crew can do burnout operations safely and backfires without the flames jumping the road.”

The BLM also will be creating green strips for fire breaks with Forage Kochia, a hardy perennial plant that stays green in hot, dry environments.

“This what we need from a fuel break perspective for fire suppression,” Okeson says. “If you look at this stand of Forage Kochia, the thing that should stand out is the spacing between the plants. There’s no fuel there. It knocks the flames down to the point or stalls it out where it’s easy to pick up for fire resources.”

Another key part of the Interior Secretary’s strategy is to stage firefighting equipment with RFPA’s in rural locations.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

Mike Guerry gave a rundown of the fire engines at his ranch in the Three Creek area.

“This is our commitment to the RFPA. We have many members who provide equipment, and this is what we provide,” Guerry says. “We provide two tractors and disks. They’re used right on the fire.

“This next piece is our water tender. This one will fill three engines. Carries 2,700 gallons of water. If we can get these staged close to the fire lines, the engines don’t have to come off the fire line for very long. And that’s key ... to catching them quick.

“This is our fire engine. It holds 900 gallons of water. It’s all set up, we’ve got a fire pump and hoses on the other side. We’ve got 10 flat lines that we can run a 1/4 mile into if we have to. And then it holds all of our firefighting gear as well.”

Last, Guerry talks about his fire pickup.

“This truck has been set up to fuel the tractors or graders. We’ve got a generator and air compressor along with the tools we need to service that piece of equipment so it’s ready for the next day. My gear is in it; when a fire starts I can jump in it and go. And it’s set up for communication as well.”

Looking at the Three Creek RFPA map, Guerry explains how the firefighting resources will be staged at strategic points throughout the 1.1-million-acre Three Creek RFPA during the fire season.

“This is where we’re located currently.

Our first tractor and disk will be on Simplot’s private ground. My tractor and disk will be staged at the junction of the Clover Creek-Horse Creek Road. The second will be here at Coonskin Butte. Mike Henslee will have a tractor and disk on his private ground. And the remainder of the assets will be staged in the south end of the district.”

The third prong of Secretary Jewell’s strategy is to dramatically expand post-fire restoration activities in the Great Basin.

Three types of restoration are planned: 1. Planting grasses and sagebrush immediately following burns to restore plant communities.

2. Converting old cheatgrass fields to diverse plant communities.

3. Removing invading juniper trees from mountain meadow habitat to open up use of those areas for sage grouse.

“The scope of work that’s being identified is we need to do roughly 10 million acres of restoration, which is a huge magnitude of work for BLM,” Dunton notes. “One of the parts of the secretarial order is to start looking at large-scale treatment to turn back cheatgrass. A lot of people say that’s just too big. We can’t do that. We’ll never stop it. Well, if we don’t, we lose the whole basin. So we’ve got to figure out a way.”

At a recent conference, a participant suggested that post-fire restoration activities need to go beyond the fire boundaries, Dunton said. “One of the speakers, I believe it was someone from the Nature Conservancy, he said, “If we’re going to succeed, we need to start restoring 125 percent of what we lose to get ahead of the game. It’s not good enough to restore what we lose. We’ve got to do more than what we lose to reverse the trend.”

The speaker’s comments resonated with the BLM, Dunton said.

BLM officials recently showcased a project that converted 16,000 acres of cheatgrass and exotic weeds to perennial grasses and sagebrush, north of Burley. Brandon Brown explains. “This is the Kimima Restoration project. What we had here about 15 years ago was a monoculture of cheatgrass and annual invasive weeds.

Through a series of treatments that took a couple of years, we were able to restore perennial grasses and sagebrush component on the landscape. What we did was a drillseeding with the perennial grasses and an aerial seeding with the sagebrush. And this is the result we have 15 years later.”

The Kimima site is pretty dry, with only about 10-12 inches of precipitation per year. The elevation is 4,300 feet above sea level.

“We built a lot of resiliency back into this landscape,” Brown says. “This is on a better ecological trajectory. We had a couple of goals with this project. One is to establish connectivity with habitat in Craters Monument. There’s really good habitat there, and we’ve been able to expand that.”

areas with juniper trees growing on them, fearing that predators such as ravens will hide in the trees and prey on their young.

Junipers also consume large amounts of water in meadow areas and sterilize the soil around them, making it very difficult for plants and forbs to grow there.

By getting rid of the cheatgrass, the perennial plant communities will be more resistant to fire, he explained. “By establishing this area, we’ve created a substantial fuel break, almost a landscape-level fuel break.”

After the junipers are removed, native plants and forbs bounce back quickly and sage grouse move back into the habitat.

In early June, Indian paintbrush and other forbs were sprouting in the mountain meadow.

Brown says projects like this could be done elsewhere in the Great Basin with good success. But they do take time to recover. “We plan on continuing to do projects like this so we can have an impact on the landscape,” he said.

Both Secretary Jewell and Gov. Otter are excited about the prospects for restoring public lands.

The BLM Twin Falls District also recently worked on a juniper-removal project to expand sage grouse habitat on Jim Sage Mountain. The project had support from the Sage Grouse Initiative and Idaho Fish and Game, among others, to improve habitat for the birds in mountain meadows.

“This is a juniper reduction project that started in the fall of 2013 and finished in the winter/spring of 2014,” said Dustin Smith, BLM Fire Ecologist for the Burley Field Office. “We treated around 5,000 acres. As you can see from the hard line of juniper trees on the mountain, the junipers were encroaching from there to the area where we’re standing now. We used multiple methods -- mastication and we used a lop and scatter method.”

Masticators are heavy equipment that grind up juniper trees into wood chips, and the lop and scatter method is done by chainsaw. “Shortly after we completed the mastication, some crew members were out here checking it out, and they spotted a number of sage grouse right in the mastication project,” Smith said, showing a photograph.

The largest sage grouse lek in the Burley field office area is located about 1 mile away. The juniper removal project helped expand sage grouse habitat adjacent to existing habitat, BLM officials said.

Research shows that sage grouse won’t use

“The key to restoration activities is having consistent funding for it,” Jewell said.

“The rehab is really important and the timeliness of the rehab is also important,” Otter said. “The only way to you’re going to beat that cheatgrass is to get other grasses growing there so the cheatgrass gets squeezed out.”

Idaho ranchers are excited about Secretary Jewell’s strategy, too.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Wyatt Prescott, Executive Director of the Idaho Cattle Association. “It puts it on the map, makes it a priority, RFPA’s being recognized as a priority by the federal government. Everything we can do to help that agency and ranchers work together and get those first boots on the ground quicker is going to put us in a position of getting ahead of these fires.”

Jewell expressed gratitude to firefighters for trying to save the “sagebrush sea” in Idaho and the Great Basin. “Thanks everyone for the incredibly hard work you’re doing together recognizing the value that rangelands bring to this state, this region, and to the critters that don’t have a vote, cuz they’re important too, important to all of us, to our children’s future and our grandchildren’s future.”

Steve Stuebner is the writer and producer of Life on the Range, an education project sponsored by the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

27

Farm Facts

28

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

Top Farm Bureau Agents WORD SEARCH ANSWERS from page 24

Rookie of the Month: Agent of the Month: Agency of the Month: Heather Grothaus Open Agency

Darin Pfost Open Agency

Zemaitis Agency

p

e

a

c

h

e

s

w

l

g

h

p

e

a

s

r

u

c

i

l

r

a

g

s

d

h

c

h

e

e

s

e

b s

m

t

f

p

m

b

g

n

c

s

o

p

n

t

t

l

k

p

y

l

l

e

j

e

w

e

l

r

y

n

o

e

t

p

k

t

o

p

h

e

r

b

s

w

n

a

s

m

e

a

t

i

l

w

o

k

r

g

s

h

f

l

s

d

a

b

p

s

n

c

e

t

b

k

n

t

m

p

n

p

l

t

e

p

h

s

d

r

a

w

y

p

u

g

e

o

a

r

o

r

l

p

h

l

s

t

g

y

k

n

r

p

n

r

t

e

r

e

y

b

m

s

o

w

t

i

h

c

p

i

a

s

s

i

p

e

r

s

n

c

r

d

l

o

h

e

o

g

i

t

e

o

n

p

h

a

w

d

p

r

n

e

r

n

u

c

n

s

m

o h

t

r

e

e

s

n

v

t

r

s

s

s

q

u

a

s

w

u

b

r

e

a

d

m

r

o

e

r

i

d

h

k

l

n

b

t

c

w

s

e

c

i

p

s

e

p

j

i

m

b

k

s

g

l

p

o

t

t

e

r

y

h

d

r

a

e

p

v

j

c

a

r

r

o

t

s

j

r

s

t

s

p

c

m

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

29

Celebrating 75 Years Conserving the Idaho Way

LOW INTEREST LOANS FOR IDAHO SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION Sprinkler Irrigation, No-Till Drills, Fences Livestock Feeding Operations Solar Stock Water Pump Systems 2.5%-3.5% Terms 7-15 Years Up to $200,000 CONSERVATION

LOAN PROGRAM

swc.idaho.gov | 208-332-1790

30

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

Regulation vs Freedom

By Russ Hendricks In a free market, the customer is king. Every day consumers “vote” with their dollars.

Companies that are the best at providing what their customers want thrive, while those who ignore consumers’ desires wither and die. Unscrupulous businesses cannot last long under this system of consumer responsibility and accountability, especially with today’s social media.

Contrary to popular belief, the United States does not have a free market - far from it. There is no aspect of business today that is not thoroughly regulated, most would say overregulated. There are more than 80,000 pages of federal rules alone, not to mention state and local regulations. In 2013, the Competitive Enterprise Institute estimated the total cost of complying with federal regulations was a staggering $1.8 trillion—exceeding half the size of the federal budget! Who can possibly know, much less understand, all these regulations?

Therefore, to our everlasting shame, the bureaucrat is king in our economy. Through their voluminous rules and extensive enforcement powers, these unelected regulators are far more influential than we customers are in determining what is produced and how.

Consider the current debate over labeling GMO food products. Proponents of labeling cry that citizens have a “right to know” what is in their food, and they push laws to force labeling. Meanwhile, oppo-

nents accurately cite thousands of respected scientific studies showing no detectable difference between GMO and nonGMO foods; declaring mandatory labeling is unnecessary and costly fearmongering.

Regrettably, for decades food companies have been heavily regulated as to exactly what they can and cannot print on their labels. If they vary from the proscribed guidelines, they are penalized. Since regulations and regulators are glacially slow to change, food companies are not allowed to adapt to changes in consumer desires and preferences. This is why supporters of GMO labeling push initiatives and mandatory legislation rather than simply allowing companies to respond voluntarily to consumers’ preferences. Therefore, because of our decidedly “un-free market,” it is lawmakers and regulators rather than consumers who ultimately decide what is on labels.

Due to these long-entrenched labeling requirements, the American Farm Bureau is supporting the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, which would allow for the voluntary labeling of GMO food products, under uniform guidelines set up by the FDA. This bill would apply nationwide, thus precluding a patchwork of differing laws and regulations from state to state. It would allow people to get the information they want under a voluntary labeling regime.

For instance, companies who want to cater to consumer desires to identify GMO ingredi-

ents in their food would need to keep extensive records of all food ingredients they purchase, certifying them as either GMO or non-GMO and modifying their labels accordingly. It will necessarily require additional record-keepers, accounting programs, ingredient segregation, storage and tracking and it will therefore be costly to provide this information.

Conversely, those who prefer not to maintain those extensive records would be free to keep their label as is, consequently being able to sell their products for less. Under the SAFE Act, consumers would continue voting with their dollars, informing companies every day through their purchases whether they were receiving enough information or not.

Less regulation and more freedom for companies to voluntarily satisfy customer desires would solve a host of other problems that we unquestioningly think government must resolve for us. For instance, few companies exceed government mandated food safety requirements since there is no incentive to provide an additional margin of safety once the proscribed standard is met.

Therefore, despite government regulations, we still have periodic incidents of food borne illness.

Government’s only tool is regulating. This inevitably stifles innovation and restricts companies from developing new techniques or processes that may be much better since they are not approved by the regulators.

However, in the absence of government regulations, competition would motivate companies to do everything possible to demonstrate just how safe their products are, likely far exceeding current safety levels. Freedom to satisfy consumers’ preferences better than their competitors spurs companies to innovate and improve, not regulations.

Unfortunately, we will never know what amazing new products would have been developed, or how much cheaper current products could be in the absence of crushing regulations.

Perhaps someday we will all understand that regulations harm rather than serve consumers, allowing us to repeal costly and self-defeating rules.

But until that day comes, the best way forward on the GMO labeling issue is to support the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015.

Russ Hendricks is director of governmental affairs for the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation. He can be reached at rhendricks@idahofb.org.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

31

IDAHO FFA MEMBERS—THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE Why FFA With the world population expected to near 10 billion by the year 2050, every facet of agriculture must grow to meet the increasing demands for the world’s food supply. FFA members are students who are preparing to help meet local and global challenges through careers in agricultural sciences, business and technology to through their participation in high school agricultural education and FFA. FFA has been an integral part of agriculture programs in Idaho high schools since 1929, currently with over 12,000 Idaho agricultural education students, 89 active chartered Idaho FFA chapters, and over 4,300 Idaho FFA members. Agricultural Education is delivered through classroom and laboratory instruction, Supervised Agricultural Experience programs or work-based learning, and student leadership through the FFA organization.

FFA has provided a formal structure for thousands of members over the years to acquire leadership and public speaking skills, and learn the importance of goal setting, the value of hard work, honesty and community service. Many of our current leaders in education, business, agriculture and government got their start in FFA. The Idaho FFA Foundation was established in 1980 as the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for the Idaho FFA Association and is proud to provide ongoing financial support to career development events and leadership activities that help students develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success.

www.idffafoundation.org

Support Idaho FFA members with your contribution to the Idaho FFA Foundation today!

I/We would like to contribute $_____________ to the Idaho FFA Foundation to support Idaho FFA members: Name _________________________________________ Address _______________________________________ City/State/Zip _________________________________ _________________________________ Phone ________________________________________ Email _________________________________________  General Contribution Memorial Contribution in honor and memory of: _________________________________________ Send notification to ________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ Check Enclosed  Please bill my:  Visa or  Mastercard Name on card: _____________________________________________ Card Number and Expiration Date: __________________________________Exp________ Signature ____________________________________ Please mail to:

Idaho FFA Foundation P.O. Box 870 Meridian, ID 83680 Questions? Phone: 208-861-2467, or Email: lwilder@idffafoundation.org

www.idffafoundation.org

501(c)3 Non-Profit

FFA—Premier Leadership, Personal Growth and Career Success through Agricultural Education 32

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

UI FORESTRY

Continued from page 19

pense of the operation. But economics and safety are not the sole factors in deciding to salvage log – forest health considerations also play a role in the decision to harvest postfire stands. Increased bark beetle populations may occur in fire-damaged trees, which then serve as reservoirs for future generations of beetles to spread into adjacent healthy stands.

Standing dead and dying timber is also fuel and can increase future fire risks. Do the math, look at your land and your management objectives, and make the decision. Salvage cuts should be done as soon as possible after a burn – by year three, much or all of the value is lost.

Reforestation. Reforestation is the process of renewal during which a new stand of trees is regenerated on a previously forested site following a disturbance such as fire. The method

of reforestation you choose, as well as the species of trees, will depend on your site assessment, management plans, and financial resources.

Natural regeneration is when you let nature handle the job. In a managed forest, openings created by harvesting usually include a reforestation strategy to prepare the site for the next crop. When a wildfire removes some, most or all of the vegetation from a site, a natural regeneration strategy is often not feasible and landowners are left with fewer options. Artificial regeneration is when you bypass nature and seed or plant the site yourself.

The Idaho Forest Practices Act (IFPA), is a set of laws that guide landowners on basic forest practices and outline minimum management requirements, including reforestation standards. It is important to be

familiar with IFPA laws - misinterpretation is not an excuse for noncompliance. To be sure, contact your local Idaho Department of Lands office for a copy of the rules and for any clarification you may need on particular laws.

See UI Extension publication After the Burn: Assessing and Managing Your Forestland after a Wildfire (http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/ edComm/detail.asp?IDnum=1347& category1=Forestry&category2=NU LL) for in-depth information on how to conduct a full assessment and determine postfire management strategies.

Yvonne Barkley is an associate extension forester for the University of Idaho. She can be reached at yvonnec@uidaho.edu

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

33

A Taste of Idaho:

Easy, Delicious Summer Grilling

By John Thompson Ever consider grilling a piece of watermelon? I didn’t either until I recently came across this recipe from The Food Network’s Alton Brown. It’s a sweet, savory addition to a quick weeknight dinner on the grill and it helps solve a problem that I often encounter. It seems like I regularly have half of a watermelon sitting on a plate in the refrigerator. It takes a pretty big crowd to make a whole watermelon disappear and although I dislike watching one go to waste, that half that didn’t get invited to the party, often ends up in the compost heap.

To prevent that succulent half of a melon from going to waste try this easy recipe.

First, cut the ends and sides of the melon away leaving a rectangular piece. Then cut that piece into one inch thick serving-sized pieces. Next, prepare the other ingredients for serving and chop fresh mint and Kalamata olives. The shallots should be peeled 34

and rubbed with olive oil and placed on the grill prior to the melon. Remove the shallots when they soften, chop them up, put them in small bowl with the sherry vinegar and reserve. Rub olive oil on both sides of the melon and place it on a hot grill. Grill for a few minutes on each side until grill marks appear, then remove. Finish by placing the melon on a platter and dress with shallots, olives, crumbled feta cheese and mint. Salt and pepper to taste.

Another favorite grill recipe of mine is corn on the cob. Grilling the corn helps it retain all of its sweetness rather than boiling it away in a pot of water. Plus it saves on clean up, but remember to shuck it outside on the deck after grilling or you’ll have a mess of singed corn husk all over your kitchen. I’ve seen people grill corn that has already been shucked, but never tried it.

First, remove a few of the outside leaves covering each cob and pull the tassles off.

Soak the corn in a sink full of cold water

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

for about 30 minutes. When the grill is hot, put the corn on and cook it for 30 minutes over medium heat, turning regularly until the leaves begin to darken. At this point you can pull the corn off and it will look similar to boiled corn on the cob once you shuck it. If you’re a little more adventurous, leave the corn on the grill for a few more minutes until the leaves are dark on all sides. The extra cooking time will begin to carmelize the kernals which adds another level of flavor.

When the corn is almost done, drop a few water-soaked mesquite chips on the charcoal and put the salmon on the grill. The fish will absorb smoke easily so be careful not to overdo it on the mesquite. Add a sprinkle of lemon pepper to each piece of fish and grill for about seven minutes or until the yellow fat begins to ooze out of the fish filets. And there you have a simple, low mess, delicious meal that’s easy to make after a busy day.

Alton Brown’s Grilled Watermelon Salad 1 medium watermelon, approximately 8 pounds 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 4 ounces feta cheese 4 ounces cured black olives, such as kalamata 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves (choose smaller leaves) Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Kosher salt, to taste

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

35

FREE Hearing Assessment for members and their families Discount on Hearing Aids Statewide Network of Hearing Professionals 60 Day Trial Period 2 Year Minimum Manufacturer Warranty and Accidental Loss & Damage FREE Batteries (1 box per aid, with purchase) (One of your Idaho Farm Bureau Member Benefits!)

Schedule Your FREE Hearing Assessment Today call

(888)497-7447 toll free

www.clearvaluehearing.com

Better Hearing is Better Living!

36

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

PORT OF LEWISTON

Continued from page 5

it obvious that the foreign container shipping companies would pull out? Do you believe they had other options?

Answer - The Port of Portland has eleven marine terminals, all of which are experiencing good labor relations and optimal production from the same longshore workforce that works at ICTSI. Again, to explain the drop in productivity at Terminal 6, one must look to management. The ILWU is always open to having dialogue and improving operations, but it’s very difficult to improve productivity when the terminal operator is failing to provide adequate staffing and equipment per its contract.

Longshore men and women would like nothing more than to have a decent, responsible employer in Portland that operates in compliance with its contract – the same contract that all other terminals in Portland and along the entire West Coast are following. The fact that ICTSI’s Terminal 6 is having issues right now, while dozens of other terminals are thriving with ILWU workers, makes it clear that poor ICTSI management is at the root of the problem.

During the meeting held at the Port of Lewiston in late May, Mike Hainey from Wesco International, a forage shipping company, said his company has evaluated rail shipping to Seattle but has moved to trucking. Both methods present many complexities. Rail cars have to be unloaded and reloaded into containers before going onto ships. Trucks hauling containers are more seamless but back-hauls are difficult to obtain in some cases and trucks are often delayed inside the Port. In addition, trucks must travel through hightraffic areas in downtown Seattle to reach the Port.

Ted Kadau, marketing manager for Great Northwest Railroad in Lewiston, a short line, said they have a rail siding 75 miles west of Lewiston where they interchange with the Burlington Northern rail line.

“We have existing infrastructure to move

containers but it’s complicated when you’re dealing with international freight,” he said. “There are lots of players involved but we are very willing to help pick up the slack and move the product.”

Bert Brocke, from GF Brocke and Sons in Kendrick, said his company has been shipping pulse crops down the river for the past 15 years. He said 75 percent of the pulse crops grown in the Palouse region are exported and 85 percent of that volume traditionally went down the river.

“We are looking at both truck and rail but the cost comparison is roughly double the money than with the Port of Lewiston,” he said.

Hainey said his company has lost many of its overseas customers during the Port labor slowdown. Customers that need forage crops to feed livestock have gone to other countries including Australia, Pakistan and Spain to find what they need even though Pacific Northwest forages are consistently higher quality.

“The bottom line is we produce better forages but livestock have to eat and when our customers couldn’t get what they needed from us they went elsewhere,” he said. “There is no vigor in the world market right now for forage products.”

He added that the labor vs management problems have made the West Coast an unreliable shipper. In addition, the new ILWU contract will come up for renewal in five years and similar turmoil is likely when the time comes.

“We need changes and they need to be federally mandated changes,” he said.

“Unions give a lot of money to politicians which makes the problem more difficult to solve.”

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), a coalition of agriculture groups and other exporters, support legislation introduced by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. The Port Transparency Act (S. 1298) would establish port performance standards and measurements. A

letter from the group in support of Sen. Thune’s bill states as follows: “The lack of good port operations data has hampered the ability of the business community to drive efficiencies at the nation’s ports. The business community understands that good management of complex systems begins with good measurement and good data. Transportation and trade stakeholders agree that good, empirical data is the absolute first step in any effort to address complex congestion and infrastructure issues. While private efforts to move forward with developing port metrics are ongoing, we believe the nation as a whole would benefit if the federal government would collect and publish basic baseline information about port performance, such as cargo throughput and metrics that measure factors relating to congestion and delay. While the issues at each U.S. port are different, one universal set of data points would be enormously helpful in efforts to study and address costly bottlenecks at our nation’s ports.”

ILWU opposes the legislation. Their letter states that establishing port performance standards assumes that all ports are faced with the same issues while in reality problems are generally port specific. “Senate Bill 1298 is unnecessary to the efficiency of port performance, and more importantly the collection of data on performance indicators throughout the nation’s ports would be onerous. As articulated and emphasized by the maritime industry, improved and expanded infrastructure to support growing shipping needs and collaborative efforts of those parties involved is needed for the effective functioning of the ports, not statistics surrounding maritime labor agreements and the average number of lifts per hour.”

More information on S. 1298 can be found at the following link: http://www.commerce.senate.gov/ public/index.cfm/?a=files.serve&File_ i d = 5 6 c 6 8 2 c 5 - a 4 21- 4 9 38 - b d1f 55a73827c8be

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

37

July 4th Cookout Costs Less This Year, Still Under $6 Per Person

A total of 88 Farm Bureau members (volunteer shoppers) in 30 states checked retail prices for summer cookout foods at their local grocery stores for this informal survey.

WASHINGTON, D.C., - A Fourth of July cookout of Americans’ favorite foods including hot dogs, cheeseburgers, pork spare ribs, potato salad, baked beans, lemonade and chocolate milk will cost slightly less this year and still comes in at less than $6 per person, says the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Farm Bureau’s informal survey reveals the average cost for a summer cookout for 10 is $55.84, or $5.58 per person. That’s about a 3-percent decrease compared to a year ago.

“Based on our survey, food 38

The summer cookout survey is part of the Farm Bureau marketbasket series which also includes the popular annual Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey and two “everyday” marketbasket surveys on common food staples Americans use to prepare meals at home. A squad of Farm Bureau members across the nation checks retail prices at local grocery stores for the marketbasket surveys. AFBF published its first marketbasket survey in 1986.

prices overall appear to be pared to last year,” Ander- processed items in the basAFBFson is the said. nation’s“This largest general organization member in all 50 states fairly stable. Prices for beef helpsfarm keep ket. with Energy isfamilies an important and Puerto Rico. Learn more at http://facebook.com/AmericanFarmBureau or have continued to increase prices down on the more component of the final price follow @FarmBureau on Twitter. this year, but prices for other Items Amount 2013 Price 2014 Price 2015 Price % change meats are generally declin1 Ground Round 2 pounds $7.86 $8.91 $9.10 2.1% ing. Dairy product prices are 2 Pork Spare Ribs 4 pounds $12.29 $13.91 $13.44 -3.4% also quite a bit lower,” said 3 Hot Dogs 1 pound $2.29 $2.23 $2.19 -1.8% John Anderson, deputy chief 4 Deli Potato Salad 3 pounds $8.77 $8.80 $8.58 -2.5% economist at AFBF. “Meat production is starting to increase substantially.

Beef prices have started to stabilize but have not declined yet. On the other hand, retail pork prices have been declining all year,” Anderson said.

“Fuel and other energy prices have also generally been lower so far this year com-

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

5 Baked Beans

28 ounces

$1.99

$1.96

$1.83

-6.6%

6 Corn Chips

15 ounces

$3.37

$3.37

$3.26

-3.3%

7 Lemonade

0.5 gallons

$2.07

$2.00

$2.05

2.5%

8 Chocolate Milk

0.5 gallons

$2.62

$2.82

$2.65

-6.0% -7.1%

9 Watermelon

4 pounds

$4.56

$4.53

$4.21

10 Hot Dog Buns

1 package

$1.64

$1.63

$1.57

-3.7%

11 Hamburger Buns

1 package

$1.67

$1.68

$1.50

-10.7%

12 Ketchup

20 ounces

$1.55

$1.36

$1.46

7.4%

13 Mustard

16 ounces

$1.23

$1.25

$1.14

-8.8%

14 American Cheese

1 pound

Total Per Person

10

$2.73

$3.12

$2.86

-8.3%

$54.64

$57.57

$55.84

-3.0%

$5.46

$5.76

$5.58

-3.0%

for these products.

“As a nation, we continue to enjoy a consistent, highquality supply of meats and poultry at prices that are remarkably affordable for most consumers,” he said.

AFBF’s summer cookout menu for 10 consists of hot dogs and buns, cheeseburgers and buns, pork spare ribs, deli potato salad, baked beans, corn chips, lemonade, chocolate milk, watermelon for dessert, and ketchup and mustard.

A total of 88 Farm Bureau members (volunteer shoppers) in 30 states checked retail prices for summer cookout foods at their local grocery stores for this informal survey.

is part of the Farm Bureau marketbasket series which also includes the popular annual Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey and two “everyday” marketbasket surveys on common food staples Americans use to prepare meals at home. A squad of Farm Bureau members across the nation checks retail prices at local grocery stores for the marketbasket surveys. AFBF published its first marketbasket survey in 1986.

AFBF is the nation’s largest general farm organization with member families in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Learn more at http://facebook.com/AmericanFarmBureau or follow @FarmBureau on Twitter.

The summer cookout survey

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

39

40

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

41

Classifieds Animals

Help Wanted

Hay

Wanted

Kopf Canyon Ranch, Moscow, Idaho.

Registered purebred and percentage Kiko Goats, Genemaster 50/50 Kiko/Boer Cross goats for sale. Raised for hardiness, breeding stock, meat and brush management. Check our site for list of available goats: http:// www.kikogoats.org. 208.669.9000.

Agricultural Appraiser. Our top part-time livestock and Equipment appraisers earn 60,000/year. Agricultural Background Required. Call 800-488-7570 www. amagappraisers.com.

Hay for Sale - 1st & 2nd Crop $160 a Ton (Small Bales.) Shelley area. Call 528-5337 Leave message.

Paying cash for old cork top bottles and some telephone insulators. Call Randy.

Payette, Id. 208-740-0178.

Vehicles

Household

Purebred registered quality Icelandic sheep starter flock, four ewes of various ages, and one 5 year old black ram. All are proven breeders. All for $1200. Call 208-858-2103, located at Viola, ID. Ask for Lee.

1907 Malcolm Love cabinet grand piano, African mahogany, (extinct wood). Beautiful and very ornate. Would be a wonderful piano for a church, resort, or home. Very good shape. $3,000. Kimberly, Id. 208-4234247.

2012 Bighorn 5th wheel 36’ 3 slide; 2002 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel, 4 wheel drive, 6 spd. trans. 76,000 miles. ext. fuel range 750 miles. Package deal $70,000.00. Blackfoot, Id. 208-251-2243 Leave message & phone #.

Paying cash for German & Japanese war relics/souvenirs! Pistols, rifles, swords, daggers, flags, scopes, optical equipment, uniforms, helmets, machine guns (ATF rules apply) medals, flags, etc. 549-3841 (evenings) or 208-405-9338.

Farm Equipment New Squeeze chute, green, hand-pull, $1,300.

Midvale, Id. 208-355-3780.

1950’s International 300 tractor with auger and 20’ dual axle trailer with sides. Rexburg, Id 208-351-9670.

New Holland 488 Haybine. Like new - less than 70 hours. $18,500 or best offer. Moyie Springs, Id 208-267-8992.

1984 JD2640-70hp w/522 loader6’bucket,$15,500; Landpride 6’ Toto-mower, $1,500; Priefert 6’Roto-Tiller $1,500; JD 8’ Blade $200; JD F845 - 14” 3 bottom - 2 way plow $200; 5-Row Corrugator $150; Pipe Trailer $500; 350 Gal fuel tank w/ stand $135; 300 gal fuel tank $90; R.R ties 12 @ $12 each. Jerome, ID 208-308-1888.

Double tooth rake teeth for H&S HD wheel rake. 200+ of them-used. New $12.00 each, will seel for $6.00 each. Bancroft, Id 208648-0886 or 251-0174.

Balewagons: New Holland self-propelled or pull-type models. Also interested in buying balewagons. Will consider any model. Call Jim Wilhite at 208-880-2889 anytime.

DEADLINE DATES: ADS MUST BE RECEIVED BY AUGUST 20 FOR NEXT ISSUE OF THE PRODUCER

42

Miscellaneous Outdoor Wood Furnace for sale. Heats a home, its hot water, plus a shop or barn.

The stove sits outside and has a firebox surrounded by a water jacket and is fully insulated. Works with existing furnace system. John 208-781-0691.

Real Estate/Acreage Want to buy, lease, and/or rent sugarbeet shares for 2016 growing season. scottjclark83647@gmail.com (208) 5778664 Wanted: Rent to own or owner finance up to 1 or 2 acres or less with hookups for trailer or old house with all hookups ‘in Idaho’.

208-358-7475.

Brick home outside Wilder on 2.26 acres with 4 bedrooms; 2 1/2 baths; finished basement with wet-bar; 2 car garage; 36 x 40 shop; tool shed; 20 x 40 in-ground pool; 3 bedroom, 2 bath rental on property.

Asking $385,000 Call (208) 989-4068.

Henry’s Lake - Lot at goose Bay for Sale $55,000. Includes sewer and water. 208404-9403.

Indoor Arena, 24 acres, Outdoor Arena, 27 Covered Stalls, Shop, 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath Manufactured Home east of American Falls.

Pressurized irrigation with wheel lines.

Contact Mike Parker with Gate City Real Estate at 208-251-1152.

Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly / SUMMER 2015

2004 Nissan Xterra SC. 4wd, 1 owner, excellent condition. $11,500. Eagle, Id. 208871-0636.

Wanted Austin Healey 1956 to 1968 - 100/6 – 3000 Parts or entire car in any condition.

I’m willing to pick up your parts or car and pay you cash. 208-895-8875 Wood Barn Wanted. Our Idaho family loves old wood barns and would like to restore/ rebuild your barn on our Idaho farm. Would you like to see your barn restored/rebuilt rather than rot and fall down? Call Ken & Corrie 208-425-3225.

Looking for vintage sports and entertainment trading cards. Interested in pre-1980 cards but will consider everything. Offering a fair deal. 208-280-0677.

Buying U.S. gold coins, proof and mint sets, silver dollars, rolls and bags. PCGS/ NGC certified coins, estates, accumulations, large collections, investment portfolios, bullion, platinum. Will travel, all transactions confidential. Please call 208-859-7168.

Old License Plates Wanted: Also key chain license plates, old signs, light fixtures. Will pay cash. Please email, call or write. Gary Peterson, 130 E Pecan, Genesee, Id 83832. gearlep@gmail.com. 208-285-1258

FREE CLASSIFIEDS Non commercial classified ads are free to Idaho Farm Bureau members.

Must include membership number for free ad. Forty (40) words maximum.

Non-member cost- 50 cents per word. You may advertise your own crops, livestock, used machinery, household items, vehicles, etc. Ads will not be accepted by phone. Ads run one time only and must be re-submitted in each subsequent issue. We reserve the right to refuse to run any ad. Please type or print clearly. Proof-read your ad.

Mail ad copy to: P.O. Box 4848, Pocatello, ID 83205-4848 or email Dixie at DASHTON@IDAHOFB.ORG Name: __________________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________ City / State / Zip: __________________________________________________________________ Phone: _____________________________________ Membership No. ___________________ Ad Copy: ________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________